Uganda on Friday announced the detection of two cases of mpox imported from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the western district of Kasese.

The cases were among six suspected infections in Mpondwe and Bwera, towns bordering the DRC, according to Henry Mwebesa, director general of health services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, in a statement issued in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

He said samples from a 37-year-old Ugandan woman married to a Congolese national and a 22-year-old Congolese female tested positive for the viral disease. “Findings reveal that transmission did not take place in Uganda and to date, no secondary transmission has been linked to the two cases,” said Mwebesa.

“So far, nine contacts are under follow-up. Uganda continues to monitor the evolving situation in the DRC where cases have been reported in nearly all provinces, the latest being North Kivu, specifically Goma,” he said while confirming the deployment of a rapid response team to Kasese to collaborate with district authorities in controlling the imported cases.

The East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc, issued an alert Monday, urging its eight member states to educate citizens on protecting themselves and preventing the spread of mpox. This followed reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) warning of mpox outbreaks in Burundi and the DRC, both EAC members.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Ministry of Health declared a case of mpox Wednesday following its detection in Taita Taveta, southeast of the country’s capital of Nairobi.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, transmits through close contact with infected animals or humans, contaminated objects, and respiratory droplets, causes symptoms including skin rash, fever, intense headache, muscle aches, back pain, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes, as per WHO guidelines. ■